


Blood, Sweat & Biotics

by nejirewrites



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: +a thousand more tags, Adventure, Angst, Drama, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Lots of Cursing, M/M, Romance, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Violence, implied sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-13 12:35:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10513890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nejirewrites/pseuds/nejirewrites
Summary: Post-Game// Sara is reunited with Scott, she finds that she missed out so much adventure and life while she was in a coma. While everyone around her celebrates her brother’s victory, Sara struggles to find her place amongst his friends and the Initiative.>>>>IMPORTANT: Not updating further! See Solar Flares instead. ( I'll be using pieces of scenes from this in the new fic but otherwise they are completely different ).





	1. Welcome to Madness

**Author's Note:**

> I played with the idea of doing Pathfinder Sara / Jaal but that only gave me so much wiggle room with the plot and I figured this might be a fun idea to play with. Also spoilers, spoilers everywhere as this is based entirely in the post game so final missions / romance arcs and all sorts of shit will be ruined ahead. I love you, and you have been warned.

⌜ **KADARA** ; human settlement⌟

“Ready!” The trainer walked past Sara and the other trainees in line, “Set!” She took in a slow breath and let it out as the trainer shouted, “Go!” Bolting from the start line, Sara ran towards the climbing wall, touching the wall, small blue sparks escaped her fingers and she forced herself upwards quickly. “RYDER!”

“ _ Fuck _ .” She groaned but kept moving as the man below shouted.

“NO BIOTICS.” Her fingers slipped slightly before she found her grip and made it to the top. It had taken nearly a month for her to be able to run the course fully, two weeks of rehabilitation on the Hyperion and then  _ this _ , every day for a month. Pushing herself through the rest of the course, she was barely behind the trainee in first. Her confident smile washed away in an instant as she saw the last test. The man before her easily lifted the dummy body and tied the arms with rope, and forcing the body to hold him as he carried it up the last wall. The body was nearly twice Sara’s size, “Hurry up Ryder!”

“Is that an angaran body?” Sara tried to lift the body but it was much heavier than the human models. Trying what the man in front of her did, she wrapped the arms of the dummy in rope and then threw it over, diagonally across her chest. Positioning her feet, she tried to find leverage and as she pulled the body, it only moved a foot or two. “Damn it.” Taking in a deep breath, she pulled again but the results were the same.

“Giving up already?” Others were quickly passing her and her trainer was watching her carefully. 

“Under current circumstances you won’t finish, Sara. And you can’t use your biotics while he is watching.” SAM’s familiar voice rang in her head and shook her head.

“You’re good at stating the obvious SAM, you’d think you would have learned some new skills in the last six hundred years.” Looking around she didn’t see much that would help her, there was the rope she was supposed to climb and then it clicked. She daisy chained more rope together and then tied it to the rope she had already wrapped around the arms of the dummy and held the rope as she climbed, reaching the top she tied a knot and shoved the rope through the loop and used her the wall to help her lift the body upwards. Digging into the ground with her boots, she gritted her teeth and pulled as hard as she could, the dummy lifted upwards slowly and then finally reached the top. It took her a few tries but the dummy finally teetered on the edge and started going down the other side of the wall. “Thank  _ god _ .” She released the rope and then shook out her arms. Wrapping her hand in rope, she pulled herself up the wall and vaulted over the top.

“About fucking time.” That was a voice she would know anywhere, she turned towards her brother and smiled at him before shoving him.

“Yeah, I’m sure your boyfriend enjoys you finishing first all the time.” 

“Ouch, that really hurts. This is exactly why I didn’t come sooner to pick you up.” Scott put his hand over his heart before wrapping Sara tightly in his arms and lifting her off the ground. Finally letting her go, he pointed to his two companions. “This is Liam and Jaal, I think you met Liam before cryo.”

Sara shook Liam’s hand and nodded her head, “Briefly, yea.” 

“And Jaal helped us establish our relationship with the angara.” Offering her hand, the man put his behind hers and looked at her as though she was doing something wrong. “Jaal just shake her hand.” 

“No. We are teaching our people your culture, you should start teaching ours.” His voice was firm and unwavering. Looking up at him, Sara noticed that he wasn’t looking at Scott or Liam, he was looking directly at her and seemed unphased when she looked at him. 

“Then teach me.” Jaal grabbed her wrist and brought up her arm before balling her hand into a fist, and then did the same with his own hand so the backs of their hands were touching. For a brief moment they stayed like that until Jaal lowered his arm and Sara followed. Turning towards her brother she shrugged, “Now as much as you love me, we need to talk business.” 

“Right, you said in the email that you got a message from Sloane?”

“Yeah, she stopped by the other day.” Sara brought up her omni-tool and sent the three men the navpoints. “She asked for you, Scott, but she made the mistake of calling you Ryder so she got me.” 

“I am sure she was thrilled.” Scott chuckled but Sara didn’t, instead she shook her head and thought of the woman screaming at them that she needed the  _ Pathfinder _ . 

“Yeah, she was a fucking delight.” Scott looked at his omni-tool as the navpoints finally loaded. “Sloane said she had a contact out there that would fill us in on the rest of the details, she didn’t want to speak to me.” Sara shrugged. “Maybe it’s because I kept telling her ‘ _ I am Ryder _ .’ Like she doesn’t know what family is.” 

“It’s a long way just for an info dump.” Scott said, looking at the path they would have to take to the caves.

“Yeah, well she said that she wanted to keep this as far from the port as she could.” Sara shrugged before moving away from the group, “I’ll go suit up real quick and then we will get out of here, you have the Nomad with you right?”

“Of course.” He pointed over to one of the landing pads where the Nomad was haphazardly parked.

“I see your driving skills haven’t improved.” Scott flipped her off as she turned away.

* * *

⌜ **KADARA** ; cave complex, 50 klicks from the settlement⌟

“Slow down before you miss it!” Sara shouted at her brother as smashed his foot on the breaks causing the Nomad to tilt to the point that Sara was sure he was going to roll the car and kill them all. “Seriously, why the fuck do they let you drive?” Liam snickered in the backseat and Scott scowled. 

“I drive just fine, thank you.” He said before popping open his door and jumping out. Sara rolled her eyes before doing the same, this wasn’t her first time outside the settlement but it was her first time dealing with the local rabble, and going to this particular cave system. “Do you know what her contact looks like?”

“Not a damn clue, all she said is that I’d like him.” 

“Very specific.” Liam remarked from behind them. “Should we go in or wait out here? I vote we wait out here.” 

“I’ll go in without you guys then.” Sara said with a shrug and started walking towards the entrance, Scott grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. 

“ _ I’m  _ the Pathfinder.” Her brother had a firm grip on her shoulder and she tilted her head while rolling her eyes.

“Well  _ I’m  _ the big sister, so  _ little _ brother, I want to go in.”

“How is she a big sister when she is so small?” Jaal jumped in and Sara turned to him in a fury.

“Fuck you, Jaal.” 

“That’s. . . not where I thought this was going.” He coughed and adjusted his collar as Liam snickered.

“No man, she means go fuck yourself. It was an insult not a proposition.” Liam was grinning like an idiot at his friend’s unusual discomfort, but even with the miscommunication, Sara was still pissed.

“ _ Oh _ . Yes, that makes more sense with the context.” 

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose and then pushed Sara in the direction of the cave. “Alright, let’s go before you start anything weird.” Sara pulled out of her brother’s grip and crossed her arms as they walked. There was no sign of a ship or another vehicle but she knew that meant nothing, there were too many smugglers and thieves that knew how to setup careful ambushes. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Sara looked over her shoulder but the horizon was empty aside from the tire tracks that they had left. “What’s wrong?” Scott checked where she was looking and his sister just shrugged.

“Nothing, just a weird feeling.” 

The cave wasn’t well lit but there were some lights scattered around the inside along with a few shipping crates that had the Initiative's insignia on them. “Did she just point us in the direction of stolen goods?” Sara waved her hand in disbelief, “What a waste of time.” 

A man coughed near Sara, his arms were crossed and on his face was his often, charming smile. “I could make it worth it, if you’d like.” 

“Not  _ you _ .” The twins said together, Sara’s brows rose and she turned towards her brother who was scowling in her direction.

“How do you know this asshole?” Scott snapped and Sara looked at the smooth talking smuggler and frowned.

“He came in with an infected gunshot wound.” Shrugging her shoulders, “He couldn’t keep his hands to himself so I told him that my aim was better than whoever shot him and I wouldn’t miss his heart.” Sara looked over her shoulder at her brother, “Why?”

“Because he is the one who shot me.” Reyes pulled out his own gun and pointed it at Scott’s head, “Now, as much as I would like to get my own shot in, I am here for Sloane. She said wanted to meet.” The two men started arguing while Sara looked around the room, Liam was impatiently tapping his foot and Jaal looked as though he couldn’t be bothered. There was  _ something  _ wrong but she couldn’t place it. Her brother started approaching Reyes, daring him to pull the trigger to give him a reason to tear him open with his omni-blade. 

“This shit again.” Liam grumbled to Jaal on the sidelines, and Jaal just shrugged. Apparently this was just a normal day for them, Scott screaming at a man and the other man threatening to blow his head off as some play for revenge. 

“Shut up.” The two men continued shouting and Sara filled her lungs with air before screaming at the top of her lungs, “SHUT UP!” Liam jumped a little at the volume while Scott and Reyes finally hushed. “What’s in the boxes?” Scott shrugged his shoulders as if it was unimportant. 

“Who the fuck cares?” 

Her eyes scanned the room and then she looked upwards where there had been drilling for lights. There was near silence in the cave, other than their heartbeats, the drips of water from deeper within, and a faint sound that Sara could barely hear.  _ What was it _ ? 

“What do you hear Sara?” Liam’s voice interrupted her focus and she shook her head, she just needed to think for a moment. She remembered that Reyes had told her that Sloane had it out for him and she seemed to share no love for her brother either. 

“Reyes, you said Sloane contacted you?” Sara asked while still looking at the lights on the ceiling.

“Yes.” 

All of this, all of it was wrong. Sara panicked for a moment as she pieced together what was happening.  “I’m so stupid!” She cursed at herself and then looked at her brother, “Scott, we need to leave--” but it was too late, there was a loud click above their heads, and down the lines of the cave, several bombs exploded causing the ceiling of the cave to collapse on top of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ▶ I just imagine Sara as smol and offended by it? Like Edward Elric complex even tho she isn't that small  
> ▶ my Sara was a biotic and I was so angsty that Jaal showed interest in Cora's biotics but ignored mine?? so I'm fixing that  
> ▶ you can find me @dietcokewrites on tumblr (sometimes bc my computer can barely handle it). I tend to spam just aesthetic shit and inspo stuff for stories  
> ▶ more will come after I beat the game again because what is life?


	2. Crumbling Revenge

⌜ **KADARA** ; cave complex⌟

There wasn’t a moment for her to hesitate, Sara held both her hands up and pushed outwards with her body, a blue aura surrounding her and the small group around her. It had been six weeks since she had pushed herself this hard,  _ six weeks _ since she was tied to a chair while an alien tore into her mind. Sure, she had used her biotics during training to give herself a small boost in her performance but nothing close to this. 

“Go.” She was breathing heavily, trying to find her focus. Reyes was the first one out but Scott was hot on his heels, Sara could only imagine _ why _ , but she nearly lost the barrier when she looked away. The rocks around the shell were adjusting as she slowly moved backwards, her boot slipped slightly from the pressure. “Damn it.” She grunted before feeling a hand on her shoulder that started guiding her toward the entrance. “I can’t. . . I can’t hold it much longer.” Sara could feel the warmth of the sun through her suit, but she knew that while the entrance was close, she wasn’t going to be able to keep up the barrier for that long. 

“Then don’t.” It was Jaal’s voice.

“But if I stop-”

“Trust me.” 

“I hope I don’t regret this.” She said before nodding her head slightly.Jaal moved his hand from her arm, wrapped it around her waist and pulled her roughly towards the entrance. Sara gasped for breath and the barrier faded quickly, Jaal pushed her to the side of the opening and then pushed her against the outer wall. As the rocks started tumbling out of the mouth of the cave, Jaal pushed himself against her and shielded her from the debris. 

As the dust finally started to clear from the air, Jaal turned his attention toward Sara. “Are you alright?” His voice was soft,  _ kind  _ even. Everything about his was distracting her from the shouting behind them, even his smell was enchanting. Sara glanced at where his arms were to see if there was an easy escape from his effect, but he had done an excellent job of shielding her with his body.

“Yeah.” She nearly whispered, looking into his eyes. “A little bruise but much better than the alternative.” Sara offered him a small smile before Jaal moved away from her, every part of her body felt numb to the outside but she could feel the pulse of her biotics in her veins still. She had pushed herself too hard. It felt like small electric shocks across her body and with each step, she winced. But there was no time to complain or retreat back to camp, the day wasn’t over yet. 

Whatever worry that Scott had felt for his sister was completely overpowered by his anger towards Reyes and Sloane. Scott brought his fist down on the Nomad and Liam looked at Jaal and Sara. “He’s lucky Gil didn’t see that.”

“Why the fuck would Sloane try to kill me? _Reyes_ on the other hand, now that I understand. The only reason she’s sitting her ass on that throne is because I saved her from a bullet.” Scott glared at Reyes and the smuggler sighed before shaking his head. “And why the hell would you even show up to another meeting with Sloane, she has no love for you, and neither do I.”

There was a slightly pained look in Reyes’ face but he quickly brushed it off. “You. She tried to kill  _ you _ .” Reyes crossed his arms and then shrugged. “I wasn’t entirely honest earlier.” 

“For fucks sake.” Scott grabbed Reyes by the collar, in one quick movement, Reyes pulled Scott’s hand off of him and pushed him into the Nomad before regaining his composure. “Then why the hell did you come here?” Her brother snarled.

“I intercepted a message between her and one of the groups out here.” He explained before looking at the others around him, “All it said is that Scott- the  _ Pathfinder _ would be here, today.” Sara was quick to connect the dots, but her brother was still in a confused fury.

“That doesn’t make sense.” Scott sounded more frustrated than any moment Sara could remember, at least, aside from the brief moments they had with their father while he was working on SAM. “You can here then for what? To see me?” 

For the first time in hours, there was silence, Scott looked shocked that Reyes had gone this far out of his way to see him again. It seemed like even taking a bullet didn’t ruin whatever small romance they had before. Sara would have pointed out that Reyes had just pointed a gun to Scott’s head only a few moments ago, but she also knew Scott’s taste in men. “So, what do you want us to do, Pathfinder? Because two people tried to kill you today and I think we have time to handle both if we’re quick about it.” 

“We’re not killing Reyes.” Scott said before opening the door to the Nomad.

“Then what are we going to do?” Liam asked as Scott waved everyone to start getting inside. The boys started getting inside, Reyes included, Sara couldn’t help but sigh, nothing good could come from this. 

“We’re gonna kill the queen.” Scott said angrily before slamming his door. 

Sara pulled herself up in the passenger side to see Reyes had taken her seat in the front, a frown crossed her face before she slid into the back with Jaal and Liam. “Scott, before you do anything stupid, let’s think about this.”

“She blew up a fucking  cave and almost killed us, she almost killed  _ you _ Sara.” Scott snapped as the Nomad’s engine started to hum. 

“Yeah, I was there.” Glaring at his sister over his shoulder, Sara moved and sat on the center console. “Call her.” Sara said, tapping her comm, “Tell her you went to the meeting place, that Reyes must have killed whoever you were supposed to meet. Tell her you didn’t see a body but, Reyes you said she wanted you dead?”

Reyes looked at Sara with an arched brow, “Yes?” He opened his mouth to ask why but she held up a finger, asking him to wait.

“Why? What did you do? Nevermind- it’s not important right now. Scott, Sloane you killed Reyes and then tell her that he had rigged the cave to blow.” Sara lifted her hand and gave a small shrug, “She thinks he is dead, that we don’t know that she was the one who rigged it to blow and she’ll never dig through the rubble to find his body.” Moving back off the center console, Sara sat down between Liam and Jaal. “Then she thinks she has the upper hand, the settlement is still safe and we can deal with her when she least expects it. It gives us time to warn the settlement that all hell is going to break loose on the planet, and it gives me time to get a shower in before we do anything else idiotic.” 

The group looked at Scott as he drummed his fingers on the wheel of the vehicle and bit the inside of his cheek. “It’s a good plan.” Liam piped in and Reyes nodded his head but Scott was still quiet. 

“I know.” Scott said before exhaling and rubbing his forehead. “Fine,  _ fine _ . Let’s rendezvous with the Tempest and I’ll call her from the vidcom.” Reyes touched Scott’s arm and her brother pulled away and scoffed. “I’m still pissed at you.” 

“You  _ shot  _ me.”

“I know, and I have more bullets where that came from.” 

* * *

 

⌜ **TEMPEST** ; conference room⌟

Sara stood near her brother as he dialed in for Kadara Port, Reyes was sitting below the deck so that Sloane wouldn’t be able to see him, and so that everyone could still keep an eye on him. The video finally connected and Sloane crossed her arms, “Pathfinder. I heard the cave collapsed. I wasn’t sure you made it.”

Scott clenched his fists behind his back but forced his charming smile forward. “When we arrived we didn’t see your contact.” There was a silence before Scott forced the lies out, “Reyes was there instead.”

“Reyes?” Sloane looked surprised for a moment but then quickly relaxed, “Did you deal with him?”

“He’s dead.” The woman nodded her head.

“Good.” 

“I am assuming your informant is dead, but we didn’t see a body when we arrived so they could be anywhere.”

“People die every day Pathfinder. I’ll clean up what’s left of the Collective while you go  _ Pathfind _ or whatever it is you do now.” The call disconnected and Sara placed a hand on her brother’s back. He was muttering every profane word he could think of before looking at Sara, Scott looked exhausted and Sara couldn’t blame him, whatever was happening between him and Reyes as well as the other emotional draining bullshit from his job was taking its toll on him.  _ He needs a break _ . She thought as Scott wrapped his arms around her and gave her a strong hug.

“Ow, Scott, not so tight. I have bruises.” She groaned and Scott held her tighter, chuckling. Scott kissed the top of her head and then started to walk up towards the bridge. Following her brother downwards, she watched Reyes who was leaning against the wall with Cora watching him carefully.

There was a purple blur in the corner of her eye and Sara turned her head, “Hey, Jaal. Hold up.” Jaal had touched the techlab door and looked at Sara as it opened.

“Hold what?” 

“Uh.” Sara scratched the back of her head, “It means hold on, like stop moving, wait there.” Jaal nodded his head in understanding, “I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier with everything that happened.” Sara shifted uncomfortably, “Thanks for, you know, saving me. I owe ya.” 

“You don’t owe me anything, Ryder.” 

“Sara.” She said before looking away from him for a moment and then looked into his eyes, “You saved my life, I think you’ve earned the right to just call me Sara.” Excusing herself, Sara nearly ran away from Jaal, following her brother up towards the bridge, wondering what other trouble her brother was about to get them into. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ▶ Sorry for not getting to all the comments ♥ but thank you to everyone who has left a message~ and thank you to those who are reading~ you are all awesome.  
> ▶ There won't be another update until next weekend or at least REALLY late in the week so Thursday or later.  
> ▶ I almost rewrote the entire first chapter bc I wanted to do something different with the plot but I am also trying to actually finish this and not get hung up on editing so there are tons of mistakes ( and I am sorry ) but all feedback is appreciated ♥ all it does is make this better and helps me develop as a writer.  
> ▶ I'm @dietcokewrites on tumblr if you wanna hit me up for literally anything.  
> ▶ THANK YOU AGAIN.


	3. Trouble in Havarl Space

⌜ **TEMPEST** ; conference room, one week later⌟

“You have been orbiting Kadara for nearly a  _ week _ .” Director Tann was as harsh as ever, the Salarian man had his hands clasped behind his back as he stared down Scott through the vidcall. “Pathfinder Ryder, we can’t afford to waste our resources on a hunch that Sloane will do something deplorable.” Scott’s jaw tightened as the Director of the Initiative spoke to him. Scott had spent much of his time as Pathfinder thinking Director Tann had no business leading but it would seem as time went on, Tann was getting a footing on his duties. 

Sara wasn’t entirely sure how much Scott had actually shared with Tann, but she assumed it was only a piece of the story. If Tann had known that Sloane had already tried to kill Scott once that week, he might pull the settlement and cause more discourse on the planet and amongst the other colonists. The last thing the Initiative needed was more bad blood with the exiles. 

“Where do you need me then, Director?” There was a brief pause as the Salarian man had thought he was going to get more resistance from the human Pathfinder. 

“We have several reports of missing cargo ships around Havarl,” Director Tann sounded pained to admit that even though the Archon was gone and the Kett had been all but eradicated from the cluster, that they still couldn’t protect their basic supplies. “I need you to find out who or what is causing the ships to go missing and put an end to this.” 

“I’ll let the team know and set a course for Havarl.” They had waited around Kadara for a week to see if Sloane would attempt anything else, but it had been a bust. Sara could only think that perhaps Sloane had figured out that they knew far more than they let on, or she had simply shifted her priorities to something more pressing. Though what could possibly be more pressing than murdering the Pathfinder? 

“I look forward to your success, Pathfinder.” The transmission cut out abruptly. 

Scott was quiet for a moment before Cora spoke. “We should set our course.” Scott exhaled deeply and looked at his sister who nodded her head as well. Sara had encouraged him to wait around for a day or two but Scott had fallen into an obsession for revenge. 

“Fine,” Scott grumbled before activating his comms, “Kallo, set a course to Havarl.” 

“Course is set, Pathfinder.” As Kallo spoke, Scott shifted his weight and looked to his sister for support. He was brooding and Sara wasn’t entirely sure there was anything she could do to make it better.

“We can’t wait for a storm that may never come.” Sara said before shrugging her shoulders.

“But it  _ is _ coming.”

“Scott,” Sara rubbed her forehead, “We can’t sit here and wait for her to plot to kill you again. She has an entire port to run and while I am sure killing you is a priority, she has other appearances to keep up.” Scott gritted his teeth and nodded his head. She was right, and while Scott knew it, he wasn’t ready to give up the chase. His eyes dropped to the interface in front of him and was quiet for a few minutes. Sara watched him carefully and the only thing she could tell from his body language is that he was brooding. Feeling the pain and anger dripping off of him, Sara placed a hand on his back and leaned her head on his shoulder. He saved tens of thousands of people from being exalted or otherwise murdered by the Kett and yet there were still those that looked down on him. He wasn’t a hero to everyone, he was still a soldier and an invader. A few good deeds and a miracle apparently weren’t enough to change those minds.

“I’ll be fine.” He said, looking towards Sara’s face.

There was a small smile on her lips as she nodded her head, “I know.” 

“Everyone come up to the conference room, we have a mission.” Scott said into his comm and Sara moved away from her brother. The circular area filled up quickly with the nine of them standing there, including Reyes. 

“Okay, we are all here. What’s our mission now?” Cora asked, placing her hands on the table in front of her. The group looked at Scott and he frowned for a moment. With all the time that they had wasted around Kadara, he could see the desire for meaning in their eyes. This stagnant feeling, even for a week, chipped away at their morale. 

“We are heading to Havarl,” Scott began to explain. “Apparently a handful of Initiative cargo ships have vanished, supplies meant for the researchers as well as food for those living on Havarl.” 

“Were any of the ships armed?” Liam asked, the idea that unarmed civilians were being attacked for basic supplies clearly bothered him. Scott touched his datapad and scrolled through until he found the details of the most recent missing ship.

“They had four armed guards on the last ship that went missing, but they weren’t transporting any weapons to the planet.” Scott said before he set down the datapad, the team looked at him, waiting for more.

“Scott?” Sara was the first to speak up, “Are there any leads on this missing ships or are we flying dark here?”

“No leads,” he explained, “but given the circumstances, I think we can agree that it is likely smugglers.” 

“Smugglers don’t often take the crew,” Reyes commented, “slavers would, but that doesn’t explain the missing ships.” Sara held her breath, neither option was a pleasant one though she would almost prefer to be dead that sold into slavery. There was a dark feeling to the room because they knew, whatever happened to the colonists, they might not find all of them- if any at all.

“Pathfinder,” Kallo’s voice rang out, “we just received a distress signal. There is no message, but it did sent out the navpoint to the origin location.” 

“Set a course to the navpoint, Kallo, maybe we can find our ship stealing friends in the act.” Scott for the first time, actually  _ sounds _ like the Pathfinder, a person in leadership, to Sara. Being at his side for their entire life she was just so used to his jovial behavior, used to him brushing off responsibility and never taking life seriously. In this moment though, he was ordering his team, he seemed organized even. “Peebee and Reyes will join me on the ship depending on what happens. Jaal will take a second team of Sara and Drack to infiltrate the other side if we meet any resistance.”

In one fluid sentence, Sara realizes that her brother just overlooked her for one of his other companions as the squad leader. “Jaal outranks  _ me _ ?” 

“He has more experience with this than you do?” Scott says without a second thought.

“Excuse me?” 

“ _ Sara _ .” Cora’s voice comes out strong and warns her that she is overstepping her authority. Her younger twin’s authority. 

“It’s alright kid, I am older than you by over a thousand years and I’m not in charge.” Drack chuckled and he patted Sara on the top of the head, who quickly swatted away his hand before he could mess up her hair any further.

“And not to mention you still haven’t gotten your physical from Lexi, you’re lucky I’m letting you off the ship.” Sara’s mouth dropped open but she quickly shut it and settled for glaring at her brother in quiet. She couldn’t tell if he was trying to play the over protective brother or if he was  _ actually _ trying to follow protocol. Scott moved away from the table and signaled for them to follow him up towards the bridge, where the loadout station was. Sara scratched her head and grumbled as she followed behind Drack, still wondering how it was that Jaal managed to outrank her in the short time she was out of commission. 

* * *

 

⌜ **TEMPEST** ; bridge⌟

Arriving at the navpoints that were sent by the distress signal, Scott touched the interface on the bridge and brought up the area on the large screen. The ship was being dragged by the gravity of the planet, but it looked intact. “Let’s get a scan of that ship, SAM.” Scott waved his hand once more and the pictures of the surrounding area vanished. 

“There are no lifeforms on the ship, Pathfinder,” SAM’s voice was clear to all the Squad members. “Nothing organic has been left on the ship.” SAM then added as the two teams look at each other uncomfortably. 

“Team Alpha,” Scott looks to Reyes and Peebee, “We’ll head to the bridge and see if there is any record of what happened aside from the distress signal.” 

“There’s nothing that’s going to kill us on that ship, is there?” Peebee asked with slight concern in her voice. 

“No, there appears to be nothing out of ordinary on the stranded ship.” SAM buzzed through and Sara scoffed.

“Aside from the missing people.” 

“Obviously.” SAM retorted and Sara raised a brow while looking to her brother who only shrugged to her. The woman sighed and wondered how much SAM had learned since she had been asleep, how much the AI had grown and wondered if he had ever thought of being his own life form. He was solely dependant on the people around him for his existence but Sara couldn’t imagine that was a fulfilling existence. Personality was scary though, personality was the start of something  _ more _ . 

“Team Bravo, you are heading to engineering to see if any part of the ship is left saveable, check the cargo and see what was left, if anything at all.” Sara secured her helmet while Kallo aligned the Tempest with the other ship and opened the door in the loadout room once the airlock connected and sealed them to the ship. Sara heard her brother say something to SAM but she wasn’t close enough to make out his muttering. Scott entered the small bridge between the ships and then stood at the furthest door with his omni-tool out, it took him only seconds to override the door. From that point on, it was easy, Scott slipped away with his team and left Jaal to organize himself and his own team. 

“It’s creepy.” Sara said abruptly, listening to the absolute silence of the ship. Jaal only nodded his head before quietly heading towards the back of the ship. There were burns on some parts of the ship as though there had been some sort of struggle, but it was impossible to say who. She followed the lines in the metal and realized that the ship had been boarded through their airlock based on the bullet trajectories. Sara touched her arm and brought up the scanner in her omni-tool, “SAM? What are you getting from this?”

“There were eight assailants.” Was all SAM said.

“Nothing else?”

“There is not enough information available to make a judgement on suspects, video or audio would be helpful as I could discern a language or a body shape.” 

Sara looked towards the darkness that lead to the bridge. “Did you hear that, Scott?”

“Yeah, there is nothing here from what I can tell.” Scott confirmed before Sara returned to following Jaal who had stopped only about ten feet in front of her. Moving to stand at his side, Sara looked down at the gun he had spotted. 

“Is that Kett?” Sara looked up at the angara and Jaal shook his head.

“It’s a  _ modified  _ Kett weapon,” Jaal corrected before addressing Scott, “It’s the Roekaar.” 

“Are you fucking kidding me? I thought Akksul lost his foothold when he shot you!” Scott’s voice was harsh in Sara’s ear, “I should have shot that bastard when I had the chance.” 

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Jaal said before grabbing the weapon, “Someone would have just replaced him. Hatred is. . .” Jaal’s voice trailed off as he looked for the words. “Contagious. Killing him would have brought those on the fence of joining, flocking to the cause.” Scott made a few grunting sounds as he tried to figure out what to do, there was no easy answer to deal with a cult that hated aliens. 

“Are our people alive?” Sara braved the question and Jaal looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

“Perhaps,” There was  _ hope _ , was all Sara heard. “But if they are, they are being tortured. He would not keep any aliens alive without a purpose.” 

“Fuck.” Drack banged his fist against the side of the ship, leaving a small dent. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ▶ update came early bc my plans changed~ yay!   
> ▶ I tried something a little different this time when planning the chapter so hopefully it helps me improve some more~   
> ▶ catch me @dietcokewrites on tumblr   
> ▶ thanks for being here friends ♥


	4. The Only Bait You Need

⌜ **TEMPEST** ; conference room⌟

“The Tempest is  _ not _ going to be bait in your half brained idea of a plan!” Kallo was furious in a way that Sara wasn’t sure was possible for a Salarian, those she had met before had such an even temperament that it was surprising to see  such passion coming from their pilot. “And what do you suppose Suvi, Lexi and I do while you all play hero on the ship and invite those --” Kallo shouted something that didn’t fully translate and then threw his hands in the air but before the Salarian could storm off, the conversation quickly moved. 

“The Tempest would make a perfect target,” Reyes held his hand up to get everyone’s attention. “The Tempest is marked as the Pathfinder’s ship to anyone in the cluster, this ship is known for having a prize that no other ship will  _ ever _ have.” All eyes were on Scott as the only idea that made  _ any _ sense was hanging in the air.

“No,” Scott said, his voice was firm as he shook his head. “Losing the Tempest would be too big a risk.”

“What about using a ship that is similar to the one we just found?” Vetra offered, “I have a few connections left and I think I could get an Initiative ship to use as bait.”

Cora scoffed, “Yeah, because we need to waste more resources here and put ourselves out  _ another _ ship.” The fury of the argument started up again in full swing and as the passion in the room reached an all time high, Sara sat down on the couch and covered her ears for a moment. It wasn’t silence but it numbed the sound around her and that’s all she needed to get a thought of her own in. Sara was on the verge of screaming when she moved her hands away from her ears for a moment and the screaming poured in once again.

“NO ONE is using the Tempest as bait, Gil!” Scott shouted over the other voices.

“Then why is everyone still talking about it?” Gil snapped, this was the first time that Sara had seen him so heated. It was understandable though, the ship was his baby just like ti was to Kallo.

“It is the best place for us to set up an ambush,” Cora pitched in, slamming a fist on the table and letting out a small shockwave of biotics. “All of us here and  _ ready _ to take care of this once and for all. We are stronger as one unit.”

“Not all of us are Asari Huntresses!” Gil snapped at Cora before looking at Scott, “I don’t care what you do, for all I fucking care use the ship we’re attached to but the Tempest - she’s off limits.” 

“You’re not in charge, Gil.” Cora snapped back this time, it was normal for her to be passionate about her mission, but Sara couldn't’ help but feel like this was more personal. Sara pushed her hair out of her face and then dragged her hand downwards. 

“Scott,” Sara spoke softly but her brother managed to hear her and looked in his twin’s direction. “What if we do use the ship they already raided?” Scott looked away from her and touched his chin for a moment, thinking if it would work.

“That will never work, any good smuggler won’t fall for the same ship twice.” Reyes countered but Vetra stepped forward.

“But what if we scrub it? We can get new codes from the Nexus and broadcast it as a different ship, all we need to do is stage it.” The wheels in Vetra’s head seemed to be turning as she looked down at her omni-tool and touched the interface, swiping through several menus before Scott could even agree to the idea. There was a strange quiet that passed over the room as Vetra looked through her codes.

“I think we have a plan,” Scott nodded his head, “Jaal and Drack will join me on the ship, let’s move quickly.” 

“Wait, Scott?” Sara lifted her hand in annoyance, “What about me?”

“You’re on the Tempest until Lexi clears you for duty.” Sara’s mouth dropped open and before she could argue the point Cora defended the decision.

“He’s the Pathfinder, Sara. And you should have been cleared by Lexi when you first stepped on the ship.” The young woman wasn’t sure what was more annoying, the fact that Cora was right or the fact that her brother was pushing protocol on  _ her _ . The team around her started talking plans and they quickly departed to find the empty boxes they had lying around to add some mass to the ship in case they got scanned.

* * *

 

⌜ **TEMPEST** ; bridge, an hour later⌟

Sara looked at Kallo as the Tempest disconnected and pulled away from the small cargo ship they had flipped. The woman crossed her arms before heading back towards the medbay, the last thing she wanted was to be poked and prodded and asked the same questions a thousand times over. It always started with something along the lines of:  _ “Have you been feeling well?”  _ But it always ended somewhere around the Archon and the feeling of another person in her head. The only way she could describe it was  _ pressure _ , like the Archon had reached into her mind and pressed down, forcing the information out of her. 

The door to the medbay opened and Doctor Lexi T’Perro was holding her datapad, the Asari woman looked surprised to see Sara there but the shock was quickly replaced with a stern look. “You should have come earlier,” Lexi lectured before motioning to the bed in front of her, “Go ahead and lie down.” Sara sat down on the edge of the bed and then took a deep breathe before laying her head on the pillow. The scanner passed over her body quickly and then returned to the top of the bed, Sara moved to sit up but Lexi put a hand on her chest and pushed her back,

“What’s wrong?” There was a feeling of panic swelling in her chest. 

“Have you been having difficulties with your biotics?” The Asari woman looked down at Sara, who was quick to avoid eye contact. 

“Not. . .” Sara closed her eyes, “Not too much.”

The doctor frowned and then helped Sara sit up. “How long have you had trouble?”

“Since Meridian,” Sara confessed, her blue eyes were glued to the floor, not wanting to see the questioning look in the doctor’s eyes or to even see a small glimpse of her scan that had shown up on the screens around the bed. “I have been avoiding using biotics since them, but when we were on Kadara I ended up trying to hold up a collapsed cave to keep us all from being crushed to death.” Dr. T’Perro’s brows rose for a moment before her usual, neutral look came back to her eyes.

“You need to go back to the Hyperion, Sara.” There was a burning feeling in Sara’s eyes as she fought tears, the thought of returning to the start of it all made her sick. Sara’s lips parted as she was about to beg the doctor to give her a chance to deal with healing her mind on the Tempest rather than trapped in the medical lab on Meridian.

Kallo’s voice over the comms interrupted her thoughts, “Ryder, we are being hailed.” Sara looked up at the ceiling as though there was a face for her to interact with up there.

“By who?” She asked and her comm hummed for a moment before Suvi replied.

“The ship is coming up as stolen,” Suvi’s voice was soft and betrayed her confusion, “It’s an angaran ship but the thing has been missing for two weeks.” Pushing herself upwards, Sara runs to the bridge and as she steps into her brother’s position, Kallo started quickly changing the direction of the ship.

“They are trying to intercept us.” His voice was trembling, from what Sara understood, the Tempest had only been in one scuffle and that’s when they crash landed on Aya. Before she had a chance to give Kallo direction, the screen across the bridge was overtaken by an unfamiliar human face. Sara looked at Kallo as though the pilot might know who it was but he only shrugged before focusing back on his maneuvers. 

“You’re not the Pathfinder.” 

“You passed your perception check, I bet your mother is so proud.” Sara said before crossing her arms, there was a moment where she paused and looked at Kallo franticly trying to avoid the other ships trajectory, but he looked at her and shook his head mouthing her to buy him more time. “He is busy with more pressing matters. What do you want?” 

His eyes traced the shape of her body for a moment before the man adjusted his head, he had striking features and deep brown eyes. “Well, I  _ was _ looking for the Pathfinder, but I think you’ll do just fine.” There was a smirk that danced across his lips just before the video cut out and Sara looked at Suvi and then Kallo. 

“What the fuck does that mean?” There was silence on the bridge for a moment, Sara could only imagine what the stranger had in mind for the Tempest and her crew. Her thoughts sent a chill down her spine. Snapping back to the present, Sara looked at Kallo who was trying not to lose his cool.

“I. . .” The Salarian looked at Sara, “Ryder, all I can do is land the ship on Havarl. They keep countering anything I do.” 

“Then land.” Sara looked out to the planet that was in view, she touched her comm and called out to her brother, “Scott?” 

Silence.

“Scott?” She called again, her heart was pounding in her chest.

“Sara?” There was interference but she could make his voice out, “What’s going on?”

“They came after the Tempest,” Sara started to explain, “We are landing on Havarl to avoid them boarding the ship out here. . . but Scott, it’s not the Roekaar, I have no idea who this bastard is.”

“Fuck!  We’ll be right there Sara, just hold them off until we arrive.”

Sara stood on the bridge for a moment, wondering what she should do. “Everyone, we are landing on Havarl.” What else could she tell them? Her mind was swimming with doubt and worry as the Tempest hit the atmosphere, “We’re going to have to defend the ship until Scott returns.” There were no details she could give them to help them prepare for the battle, she had no idea how many people were on that ship or what their motivations were. She had learned from pirates that  _ everyone _ had a price, but what was theirs? 

Cora was the first one on the bridge after Sara spoke to the crew, there was a slight frantic look about her as she grabbed a few weapons out of the lockers and tossed one into Sara’s arms. “You’re a Recon Specialist, right?” The weapon in her hands was a sniper rifle, it was light but judging by the mods that Scott had placed on it, it would take down nearly anything with a well aimed bullet.

“Yeah,” Sara said before following Cora out towards the back of the ship, “These assholes won’t know what hit ‘em.” A small moment of confidence that was quickly washed away as she followed Cora back to engineering. “Kallo, when we land, open the cargo hold, maybe we can force them to give us an advantage.” 

“Roger that, Ryder.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ▶ this was going a totally different way and I was going to do a Roekaar thing but then I finished the game for a fourth time and actually played a little after the epilogue instead of jumping back into ng+ AND AKKSUL SENT A LETTER OF APOLOGY. A bad one, but there was one so I had to rewrite the last part of the chapter XD but ah well, now I can use Akksul for other shenanigans.  
> ▶ I mean maybe it wasn't really an apology but it still warmed my heart a little.   
> ▶ more than three seconds of Jaal in the next chapter ♥ I was going to have the battle in this chapter and bring the trio back but it got extra long.  
> ▶ find me @ dietcokewrites on tumbler, I redid my stuff and it looks semi-decent now.


	5. A Small Battle

⌜ **TEMPEST** ; engineering⌟

Standing on the second floor, Sara had found the perfect vantage point for the incoming fight. It took her a moment to adjust the rifle that Cora had passed her moments earlier. Once she had though, it felt comfortable in Sara's hands. The cargo bay ramp opened as she looked through the scope, her lips parted as the first of the men appeared. Exhaling, Sara pulled the trigger and one of the men fell where they stood.

“Nice shot, Sara.” Liam said over the comms and the girl smirked for a moment before shaking her head, trying to refocus.

“Save the celebrations for after.” Cora's reply was sharp but clear. This was a battle, not a training exercise where they could afford small victories. Focusing her rifle again, Sara watched a blue light emit from Cora's hands. Singularity. Sara recognized the start of  the energy. The blonde woman threw it towards the entrance before ducking behind a strong crate.

The powerful biotics didn't seem to discourage the bandits, a group of five ran into the Tempest at once. Sara managed to take two down but the other three ducked behind the crates, shooting from cover.

“I count three!” Sara called out and as the words left her, another man ran in but as she pulled the trigger, they vanished. “Shit,” Seeing the mark on the ground from her gunshot, Sara knew that it hadn’t connected. “Two now, one is cloaked.” The intruders pushed into the ship, throwing the squad off balance. A feeling of panic and dread found its way into Sara's chest as they scrambled to push them out. If Scott didn't arrive soon. . . Sara wasn't sure they were going to last ten minutes. The crew had training and experience, but they were outmatched in numbers.

Sara pulled the trigger once more, taking out one who had tried to sneak towards Liam. A moment later, Sara heard Vetra calling out for help. The Turian woman had her back to a wall while one of the men shot her point blank with a concussive shot. Holding her breath, she realized their intentions were to capture them.

"Did you see that?" There was agitation in Liam's voice, "They aren't using live rounds."

"We'll see how long that lasts." Sara moved the rifle and found another target. "Go grab Vetra and get her away from the entrance."

"Rodger that, Ryder." 

“I’ll cover you.” Liam darted out from his cover and grabbed Vetra by the shoulders. From what Sara could see, Vetra appeared to be conscious. Her relief was short lived as someone grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back violently. The impact of the floor left Sara gasping, her attacker held his gun up and thrusted the butt of the gun towards her head. Shifting her position, she avoided the gun and kicked the man in the knee. He stumbled for a moment, but that was all she needed. Sara rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself upwards. Before she got traction, the man grabbed her by the forearm and spun her around. 

Stretching out her palm, she pushed it out towards her attacker. The energy of her biotics formed a small blue light but as she was about to release the energy, it dissipated and sent small sparks away from her hand. “Sh-shit!” She looked at her hand and then jerked her arm, trying to force her way out of his grip. 

“Duck!” Sara bowed her head quickly as the sound of two gunshots rang in the air next to her. The man holding her collapsed, Sara looked at the body in front of her and then brushed his hand off her arm. “Is that going to be a problem?” Sara looked over her shoulder to her savior, standing there was a normally nonchalant Reyes Vidal, looking at her hand with a grim look on his face. 

“It’s fine,” Sara hastily closed her hand, “ _ I’m _ fine.”

His mouth twitched as he looked at her, but he didn’t say anything further.

“You invite me to a party and don’t even keep it going until I get here?” Scott’s voice was unmistakable as he walked up the ramp. 

“Sorry, the cops showed up and everyone ran.” Sara slid down the ladder to the second level and walked over to her brother, who in turn, gave her a quick hug. 

“I”m glad you’re safe.” He whispered before kissing the top of her head. 

“Me too.” 

Their hug only lasted a moment, and Scott moved away from her and embraced Reyes. She crossed her arms and tried not to glare, Sara knew that she shouldn’t be jealous that her brother had someone else to give attention to, but it still stung when she needed attention. Or affection of some sort. 

“You arm. . .” Sara pulled her eyes away from her brother and his lover, and she looked at Jaal. The anagara man touched her arm where the intruder had grabbed her and gently traced the outline of the fingers. “Are you alright?” When he looked up from her arm, she saw the deep worry in his eyes. 

“I’m fine.” Sara was quiet as Jaal thumbed her arm. 

“But this bruise,” The softness of his voice was unnerving to Sara, it was rare that anyone was gentle with her. “Did they try to take you?” Avoiding eye contact, Sara looked towards her brother hoping that he would come over and save her from having to explain. Scott was distracted though, his attention split between Reyes and the small congratulations he offered the rest of the crew. “It’s alright,” Jaal took his hand off her arm and placed it on her shoulder, “If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to.” 

Complete  _ understanding _ . Scott would have shouted and thrown a fit for an answer. Her mother would have made tea and tried to relax her before pressing for answers. Yet a six hundred year journey from home brought her into the company of someone who accepted that she was uncomfortable and didn’t force the issue. Sara looked into his eyes wondering if she should apologize for distancing him, but he offered her a small, comforting smile in return. As she contemplated her thoughts, Jaal wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. 

“Jaal?” She stiffened at the unfamiliar touch.

“You looked like you needed a hug.” Reacting to her body language, Jaal went to move his arms away from her but Sara shook her head and wrapped her own around his torso. 

“Yeah I could use a hug, or three,” Feeling his arms return, Sara smiled for a moment and closed her eyes. For a moment, Sara was at ease, not worrying about her biotics or the chaos that had happened minutes before. The sound of someone mocking a kissing noise brought her back to reality. Opening one eye she saw Peebee standing next to her with her lips puckered. Sara rolled her eyes before releasing her grip on Jaal.  

“If you two are  _ done _ ,” Peebee smirked before taking Sara’s arm and leading her out of the Tempest, “ _ We _ are in charge of getting the transmitter from the ship.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ▶ I have been feeling really blah about inspiration recently so this took longer than normal  
> ▶ I was planning on doing more in the battle scene with the violence but I figured while I have that checked on the warnings for the fic, that not everyone wants to read that / is interested in it so a lot of that was cut.   
> ▶ ANYWAY find me @dietcokewrites on tumblr if ya want ♥   
> ▶ You are all awesome c: and have a good day/night!


	6. Soap Opera Smugglers

⌜ **HAVARL** ; near enemy shuttle⌟

“I can get it myself.” Sara offered as Peebee continued to pull her towards the now abandoned ship. Peebee’s grip on her arm got tighter and the Asari woman smiled at her. 

“Oh  _ no _ ,” Her voice was sickly sweet like honey, “How am I supposed to acquire details? Anyway, I figure I saved your ass so you owe me anyway.”

Sara arched a brow and looked at Peebee, obviously confused. “You? How did you save my ass? I was enjoying a perfectly innocent hug.” 

The Asari woman snorted and then rolled her eyes, “ _ Okay,  _ Sara,” Peebee opened the door to the shuttle that had landed near the Tempest. It was recognizably Angaran but they had painted symbols on the outside in red paint. “I am sure Scott would have thought that hug was  _ totally _ innocent.” Peebee shrugged her shoulders dramatically and then backed into the ship. 

“It was just a  _ hug _ , Peebee.” Following the Asari into the shuttle, Sara looked around the the entry way for the transmitter.

“That’s how it starts,” Peebee said before sitting in the pilot seat of the shuttle, “It’s all hugs and kisses and then one day you wake up to sixteen kids. And that’s just the  _ average _ size of an angaran family.” 

“ _ Average _ ? Thank god for hormone blockers.” 

Peebee gasped and the grin on her face only widened at Sara’s response. “So you  _ have _ thought about it.” Sara started to wonder if there was an abort button for the conversation or maybe a self-destruct button on the ship she could activate to change the subject.

“No- it’s not like that,” Sara let out an exasperated sigh and grabbed a medium sized box with an antenna sticking out of it. Offering it to Peebee, she realized that the woman was still staring at her as though she was expecting a better story, or at least a better defense. “Okay, maybe I like him a little,” Peebee looked like she was going to explode with excitement. “Look, before you get all excited, you literally saw the only contact we’ve ever had,” Sara had tried to suppress any affections or attractions she had, but Jaal’s kindness was hard to ignore. Romantic intentions or _ not _ . 

“So what you are saying,” Peebee waved her right hand in the air in a circular motion, “Is that you need a little help.” 

“Absolutely not,” Sara grunted before quickly unplugging the wires that had connected into the transmitter. Shoving it under arm, Sara started to exit the shuttle. “I can do this on my own.” 

“You let me know how that goes.”

Muttering a few profanities under her breath, Sara made her way back towards the ramp of the Tempest. Sara knew that she had been numb to things around her since her run in with the Archon but she was starting to feel like herself again. Or at least as much as she could given the circumstance. The team had cleaned up most of the Tempest, the scattered armor, weapons and bodies of their attackers were lying in the dirt of Havarl. Frowning at the sight, Sara shook her head before walking up the ramp. It didn’t feel right to leave them behind in the dirt, even if they did attack them, they were still their people - exiles or smugglers, they belonged with them. 

“Sara, did you two find the transmitter?” Sara patted the transmitter under her arm as Scott spoke, her brother pointed to Gil. The engineer nearly ripped the transmitter out of her hands and then apologized.

“Sorry- I just,” Gil took a breath, trying to calm himself. “Those assholes were on  _ my _ ship.” 

“It’s fine. Do your thing.” She offered a small smile to reassure him that while it had been rude, it wasn’t something that Sara was going to get hung up on. Gil nodded his head before walking towards the ladder with his eyes on the transmitter. From what Sara could tell, it wasn’t as complicated as some of the ones on the Nexus, and Gil was one of the best. She doubted that it would take long. 

“While he does that,” Reyes stepped forward and pointed at Sara, “You need to get your biotics checked. If I hadn’t been there-” 

“I would have been fine.” She snapped before crossing her arms.

The smuggler didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping the conversation though, “Even so, it backfired, you’re lucky it was just a spark,” He waved his hand around the room, “You could have hurt one of us,” Reyes jaw tightened for a moment before he looked to Scott and then back at Sara, “You could have hurt  _ yourself _ .” 

Scott crossed his arms and took the same pose as Sara, one of the many things they did identically. “Is it true?” 

Biting the inside of her cheek, Sara looked away before replying with a meek, “Yea.”

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, “How long?” 

“Since I held up the cave in,” Sara’s voice was soft but as Reyes opened his mouth for another round of encouragement, Sara spat out, “Which saved  _ both _ of your lives by the way.” 

“Which won’t matter if you lose fucking control and kill us.” Reyes argued.

“Are you  _ fucking _ serious?” Cora was the one who came in for Sara’s defense, “A little spark isn’t going to set the Tempest on fire.” What Reyes had said, clearly struck a chord with Cora. The blonde biotic was fuming by the time that she came within arms reach of Reyes. Scott stepped between Cora and Reyes, holding up his hands to hold Cora back if it came to it.

“Cora, that’s not what he meant.” 

“No? Well that’s how it starts, it starts with one asshole saying they are scared of a little biotic trouble and then they start building schools, teaching kids to be afraid of their abilities.” Sara pursed her lips as the conversation quickly grew into a screaming match lead by Cora and Reyes. Her brother maybe got three words in but the two of them told him that it wasn’t his fight. 

“ _ Well _ , if I knew he was going to react this badly to finding out about your little boy toy I would have insisted on helping you more.” Peebee draped her arm around Sara’s shoulders.

“Didn’t even get to that yet.” 

“Impressive.” Peebee tilted her head and watched the flaming argument. 

“I should go to the medbay though.” Sara brushed off the woman’s arm and began walking towards the doors in the back of the room. Lexi didn’t specialize in biotics, and Sara knew that, but she was hopeful that the Asari doctor would be able to at least put a temporary bandaid on it so that she could remain on the Tempest until they had a break by the Nexus or Meridian. 

Opening the medbay door, Sara was greeted with Vetra lying on one of the beds with her eyes closed, she was twiddling her fingers as Doctor T’Perro ran her tests. 

“Are you okay, Vetra?”

“I’m fine. Just a rattling in my  head that won’t go away. But I’m alive, so I’m fine.” Vetra dismissed her worries as Sara sat down on the other bed. 

“She’s right, Sara.” Lexi had finished the scans and was helping Vetra sit back up before she walked towards Sara, “Vetra is made of tougher stuff than you give her credit for.” They were trying to make her feel better in a very obvious way.

“It doesn’t make me any less responsible for what happened,” Sara closed her eyes as Lexi activated the scanner on her arm and did a quick once-over on her. “We were just lucky they used a concussive shot.” Sara had been responsible for teams before, even when fighting off pirates though, she felt as though she had made better decisions than she had less than an hour ago. Lexi waited for Vetra to clear the room before speaking plainly to Sara.

“I need to reprogram your implant, I can have SAM do most of the work as I am sure SAM has a better idea of what needs adjusting,” Lexi touched the datapad and made a few notes on Sara’s condition, “While SAM and I work on that, you need to avoid using your biotics. Any more strain on your body or your implant could lead to serious problems.” She warned before putting the datapad down. Sara nodded her head in understanding but didn’t say a word, there wasn’t much to say on the subject since she knew the risks of a malfunctioning chip.

“Is she okay to go into the field?” Sara had been so lost in thought she didn’t hear Scott open the door.

“I would ask that she stay on the ship until SAM and I identify the problem,” Lexi drummed her fingers on the table next to her datapad, “But I know that it might be unavoidable given our circumstances. So reluctantly,  _ yes _ .” 

“Is Reyes still out there bitching?” 

“Eh, he lost his pissing match with Cora since she reminded him that he isn’t  _ technically _ a member of the Tempest, and because of that, she has the authority under the Initiative to space him.”

“Can she actually do that?” Sara knew there were plenty of rules to protect them, but that seemed a bit much, even for Director Tann. 

Scott simply shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t think so but I wasn’t getting involved,” Sara couldn’t help but smile a little, it was just like Scott to avoid babysitting. “Anyway, Gil hooked up the transmitter and it pinged a location near the main settlement here on Havarl. As soon as we clean up the cargo bay we will be heading that way.” 

“Sounds good.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Sara was a breath away from shrugging her shoulders to avoid committing to anything.

“I’m fine.”

“Sara.” 

A sigh escaped her lips and she nodded her head, “Eventually,” Sara pushed herself upwards and started to leave the room, “But even if I am not, you still need a big sister to keep your Pathfinder ass in check.” 

“You know- I’ve been thinking about that, and you were asleep WAY longer than a minute more than I was in cryo so, technically speaking, I am older.” 

“Aw, does my baby brother not like being called  _ little _ .” 

“I swear to god, Sara.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ▶ this took forever and I apologize  
> ▶ I got distracted with an Modern!AU thing in Dragon Age: Inquisition and it's not an excuse, just an explanation >>   
> ▶ Also I changed the rating since I am not sure if the smut stuff is going to happen / if it is I'll change it back but I am wishy-washy to the whole thing so I don't want to get hopes up ♥  
> ▶ THANKS FOR READING AND BEING AWESOME  
> ▶ find me @dietcokewrites on tumblr to chat or just to look at terrible things together.


End file.
